Fabric Care Dictionary Acetate One of the first manufactured fibers. It is soft and has a crisp feel with the lustrous appearance of silk, and excellent appearance when draped. It is not a strong fiber, as its resistance to abrasion is poor, it resists shrinkage, moths, and mildew and does not absorb moisture readily. Its yarns are pliable and supple and will always spring back to their original shape. It is fast drying and when heated becomes more pliable. Acetone and alcohol dissolve the fibers. Special dyes are required if it is to be colored. Acrylic Acrylic is a generic name for synthetic fibers derived from 85% polyacrylonitrile. Used for base layers or insulating fabrics. Properties include a soft, wooly hand, wash-­‐and-­‐wear performance, colorfastness, and wrinkle resistance. Acrylic is used in socks and in blends with cotton for fleece apparel. Alpaca True alpaca is hair from the Alpaca animal, a member of the llama family of the South American Andes Mountains. Also imitated in wool, wool and alpaca, rayon, mohair and rayon or cotton, a cotton warp and alpaca filling, or synthetics such as orlon. it comes in various weaves, knits, and weights. Characteristically it has a fine, silk-­‐like, soft, light weight and is warm. It is very rich and silky with considerable luster and resembles mohair. If guard hairs are used, it is inclined to be stiff. It is strong and durable. Alpaca is found in white, black, fawn or gray. The fibers are less coarse than those of the llama but are higher in tensile strength. It is most commonly used in men’s and women’s suits, coats and sportswear, linings and sweaters. Some fine alpaca used for women’s dresses. Also in pile or napped fabric for coating. Angora Goat The clipped fiber of the living animal is called mohair. It has various weaves and knits. Scoured mohair appears smooth and white. It varies in fineness and is highly resilient, very strong and has high luster. Its value is determined by its luster and not its softness. It is used extensively in industries such as carpet, upholstery, curtain and automobile cloth. Angora Rabbit Hair from the angora rabbit. It is indigenous to Asia Minor and Turkey. Often blended and mixed with wool to lower the price of the finished article or to obtain fancy or novelty effects. It has various weaves and knits. It is long, very fine, light weight, extremely warm and fluffy. Angora has a tendency to shed and mat with time. Must be designated as angora rabbit’s hair. This fur fiber is one of the finest. It is used mostly in knit wear – gloves, scarves, sweaters, etc. for children and women. Also blended with wool in dress goods and suits to give a softer feel. Argyle A “version” of the tartan of the Scottish clan Argyle, also known as Bias Plaid. It is comprised using a Diamond-­‐shaped knit design that appears to be inlaid into the fabric, usually in three colors, but two color combinations are also used. Originally hand knitted, Argyle is now machine-­‐made throughout the world using the intarsia method. Tartan socks featuring the argyle pattern are worn with a kilt, particularly by military regiments in Scotland. Ballistics Cloth A thick nylon weave fabric used as reinforcement in clothing, packs, and luggage. Named for its durable similarity to bulletproof material. Batik A method, originating in Java, of resist dyeing which employs wax as the resist. The pattern is covered with wax and the fabric is then dyed, producing a white design on a dyed ground. The waxed patterns will not take the dye, and the wax is removed after dyeing. The process is repeated to obtain multicolored designs. The effect is sometimes imitated in machine prints. Boucle Made from wool, and is also in rayon, silk, cotton, linen, blends, hair fibers. It is found in any weave or knit. Normally is it seen as yarn with loops, which produces a woven or knitted fabric with rough appearance. A drawn out or ringed, looped yarn is used to give it a kinky appearance at intervals. Made in a variety of weights. Boucle yarns are usually in both the filling and the warp. Fabrics are usually springy to handle on account of the highly twisted yarns used to achieve the boucle effect. Often ravels easily. It is used in coats, suits, dresses, and sportswear. Brocade Found as Silk, rayon, cotton, and all others. The weave is jacquard and dobby. It creates a rich, heavy, elaborate design effect. Sometimes with colored or metallic threads making the design usually against a satin weave background. This makes the figures stand out. the figures in brocade are rather loose, while in damask the figure threads are actually bound into the material. The pattern may be satin on a twill ground or twill on a satin ground. Often reversible. The motifs may be of flowers, foliage, scrollwork, pastoral scenes, or other designs. The price range is wide. Generally reputed to have been developed from the Latin name “brocade” which means to figure. It is used in all types of evening wear, church vestments, interior furnishings, and state robes. Burlap Also known as Jute, is used in textiles for interiors, especially for wall hangings and a group of bright, homespun-­‐effect draperies and wall coverings. Natural burlap has a yellow to brown or gray color, with a silky luster. It consists of bundles of fiber held together by gummy substances that are pertinacious in character. It is difficult to bleach completely, so many fabrics are bright, dark, or natural brown in color. Burlap reacts to chemicals in the same way as do cotton and flax. It has a good resistance to micro-­‐organisms and insects. Moisture increases the speed of deterioration but dry burlap will last for a very long time. It works well for bagging, because it does not extend and is somewhat rough and coarse. This tends to keep stacks of bags in position and resist slippage. It is widely used in the manufacture of linoleum and carpets for backing or base fabric. Camel Hair Hair from the camel. Sometimes blended with wool or imitated in wool. Weaves are normally twill or plain. It is of the Bactrian Species of the Chinese and Mongolian deserts. Under hair is best. It is light weight, lustrous and soft. It ranges from a light tan to a brownish-­‐black color. Usually left its natural tones but can be dyed-­‐usually navy and some red. It has quite a long nap and is warm. Better grades are expensive. Sometimes blended with wool to reduce the cost and increase the wear. All wool camel hair is not as lustrous and is spongy. Can have either a rich nap or a flat finish. Wears fairly well, particularly if blended. It is used in coats, women’s suits, sports coats, sweaters, some blankets and put in some very expensive oriental rugs. It is also used in fine over coating, top coating, hosiery and transmission belts which will withstand dampness and moisture. Canvas Made of linen or cotton with a plain weave. It is mostly rugged, heavy material made from plied yarns with body and strength. It is usually manufactured in the gray state but some is dyed for different uses. It is almost the same as duck in heavier weights with as an even weave. Ada or Java canvas is used for yarn, needlework, almost like a mesh. It is used in tents, sails, mail bags, sacks, covers, etc. Finer types used for embroidery and paintings. Hair canvas is an interfacing material in various weights. Cashmere From the Kashmir goat, a hair fiber found in Kashmir India, Tibet, Iran, Iraq, China, Persia, Turkestan and Outer Mongolia. It is often mixed with wool or synthetics to cut costs and improve the wear. It comes in all weaves but mostly plain or twill, and all knits. The fiber is cylindrical, soft and silken. It is more like wool than any other hair fiber, and has a very soft silky finish; very light in weight. It doesn’t stand up to hard wear on account of extremely soft downy finish. Natural fiber is white, black, brown or gray but can be died a variety of shades. It also comes in different weights. The textile industry is only interested in the soft fibers. It is knitted into sweaters for men and women, also women’s dresses. It is often combed and sold in tops and noils. Charmeuse Satin. Originated as a French lightweight silk that was recognized for its supreme luster and drapability. Today it is made out of rayon, cotton and manufactured fibers and has a dull back. It is found in a variety of solids and prints. It is used in pajamas, dresses, and draping gowns. Cheesecloth Cotton with a plain weave. Originally used as a wrapping material for pressing cheese. It is loosely woven, thin, light in weight, open in construction, and soft. Carded yarns are always used. It is also called gauze weave. When woven in 36″ widths it is called tobacco cloth. When an applied finish is added, it is called buckram, crinoline, or bunting. In the gray cloth, it is used for covering tobacco plants, tea bags and wiping cloths. Finished cloth is used for curtains, bandages, dust cloths, cheap bunting, hat lining, surgical gauze, fly nets, food wrapping, such as meat and cheese, costumes and basket tops. Chenille Fabric Cotton and any of the main textile fibers. It has mostly a plain weave with a warp yarn of any major textile fiber. Filling of chenille yarns has a pile protruding all around at right angles. The word is French for caterpillar and the fabric looks hairy. Do not confuse this with tufted effects obtained without the use of true Chenille filling. Chiffon Silk, rayon, cotton, synthetics with a plain weave. A light diaphanous fabric of silk, nylon, that is lightweight, sheer, or transparent. Made with very fine, tightly twisted yarns. The tightly twisted yarns could be either in the filling or the warp or both. It is very strong, despite filmy look and wears very well. It is very difficult to handle when sewing and it is best to baste the pieces over tissue to make it easier. It has slightly bumpy look. It is best suited to shirring, draping, gathering, and tucking, because it is so limp. If made in a straight sheath style, it should be underlined with very firm fabric, such as faille taffeta. It is used in after 5 wear, blouses, scarves. China Silk Silk. Originally hand woven in China of silk from the Bonabyx mori. It is very soft and extremely lightweight but fairly strong. Irregularities of threads caused by the extreme lightness and softness are characteristic of the fabric. It is used mostly for linings and under linings, and could be used for blouses. Chinchilla Cotton or wool, and some manmade and synthetics. The weave is sateen or twill construction with extra fillings for long floats. It does not resemble true chinchilla fur. Has small nubs on the surface of the fabric which are made by the chinchilla machine. It attacks the face and causes the long floats to be worked into nubs and balls. Cotton warp is often used because it cannot show from either side. Made in medium and heavy weights and has very warm and cozy fabrics. It takes its name from Chinchilla Spain where it was invented. It is used in cotton, for baby’s blankets and bunting bags. Chino Cotton with a twill weave. It is combined of two-­‐ply warp and filling that has a sheen that remains. The fabric was purchased in China (thus the name) by the U.S. Army for uniforms. Originally used for army cloth in England many years before and dyed olive-­‐drab. The fabric is mercerized and sanforised, and washes and wears extremely well with a minimum of care. It is used in army uniforms, summer suits and dresses, sportswear. Colorfastness A fabric’s ability to withstand environmental exposure, dry cleaning and laundering without fading or bleeding. Colorfastness depends on the types of fiber, dye and treatment used to set the color. Corduroy Cotton, rayon, and other textile fibers, with filling Pile with both plain and twill back. It is made with an extra filling yarn, and is in the velvet family of fabrics. It has narrow medium and wide Wales, thick and thin or checkerboard patterns and has to be cut all one way with pile running up. Most of it is washable and wears very well. It also has a soft luster. It is used in children’s clothes of all kinds, dresses, jackets, skirts, suits, slacks, sportswear, men’s trousers, jackets, bedspreads, draperies, and upholstery. Cotton A natural vegetable fiber of great economic importance as a raw material for cloth. Its widespread use is largely due to the ease with which its fibers are spun into yarns. Cotton’s strength, absorbency, and capacity to be washed and dyed also make it adaptable to a considerable variety of textile products. It is one of the world’s major textile fibers. It is made from bushy plants. The immature flower bud, called a square, blooms and develops into an oval fruit called a boll that splits open at maturity, revealing a mass of long white hairs, called lint, that cover the numerous brown or black seeds. There are four main types of cotton: American Upland, Egyptian, Sea Island and Asiatic. The flowers from which these different types of cotton are obtained vary in color and texture, thus providing each type of cotton with varying characteristics. Cotton, in general, is very elastic. It can withstand high temperatures, has high wash ability and is very susceptible to dyes. Cotton Duck Heavy woven cotton canvas treated to be water resistant. Crepe Woolen, worsted cotton, silk, and man-­‐made synthetics, with a mostly plain, but various weaves. tt is a fine often gauzelike fabric with a wrinkled surface that has a crinkled, puckered surface or soft mossy finish. It comes in different weights and degrees of sheerness that is dull with a harsh dry feel. Woolen Crepes are softer than worsted. If it is fine, it drapes well. It also has very good wearing qualities with a very slimming effect. Depending on weight, it is used for dresses of all types, including long dinner dresses, suits, and coats. Crepe de Chine Silk warp and Crepe twist silk filling 25 x 22 with more ends than picks per inch. It has a soft hand and considerable luster made of raw silk or rayon. It is easy to manipulate and handle and is very long wearing. Most of it launders well. It is fairly sheer and could be piece dyed or printed. It has a slight rippled texture. Heavy Crepe de chine is called “Canton Crepe” which is slightly ribbed and now mostly made in rayon. Crepe-­‐Back Satin Satin weave on the face and a Crepe effect on the back obtained with twisted Crepe yarns in the filling – 2 or 3 times as many ends as picks per inch. It is a soft fabric which is reversible and is usually piece dyed. Very interesting effects can be obtained in a garment by using both sides, in different parts, such as the Crepe side for the body and trim or binding with the satin part up. It is used in dresses, blouses, linings, and after 5 wear. Crinoline It is a very loosely woven fiber with high rigidity. It is smooth, stiff, and has excellent strength. It comes in a variety of shades from white to black. It is used for stiffening and making interlining for hat shapes. Damask Linen, silk, rayon, cotton, synthetics, wool, and worsteds that is figured on Jacquard loom. Originally made of silk, that came to us from China via Damascus. In the 13th Century, Marco Polo gave an interesting tale about it. It is one of the oldest and most popular cloths to be found today. Very elaborate designs are possible. Cloth is beetled, calendared and the better qualities are gross-­‐bleached. It is very durable and a reversible fabric that sheds dirt. The firmer the texture, the better the quality. Launders well and holds a high luster, particularly in linen. Price range varies a great deal. Denim Cotton with a twill weave. It originally had dark blue, brown or dark gray warp with a white or gray filling giving a mottled look and used only for work clothes. Now woven in bright and pastel colors with stripes as well as plain, it is long wearing, resists snags and tears, and comes in heavy and lighter weights. It is used in work clothes, overalls, caps, uniforms, bedspreads, slipcovers, draperies, upholstery, sportswear, of all kinds, dresses and has even been used for evening wear. Down The soft under feathers of geese and ducks. Naturally warm, soft, and lightweight when dry, but useless when wet; used in insulated garments and sleeping bags. Down provides the best insulator compared to weight and is also the most compressible of all insulations. Dyeing The coloring of greige (gray) goods or fibers with either natural or synthetic dyes. This may be done in many different ways depending on the type of fabric (or fiber), the type of dye, and the desired result. Some of the more common methods are: Continuous Dyeing – Fabric is continuously dyed. Dye lots may run to 30.000 yards/color. Jet Dyeing – Used for dyeing Polyester. Pressure kettles are used to reach extremely high temperatures and force the dye into the fiber. Milliken Dyeing – Developed by Milliken & Company for continuous pattern dyeing. Piece Dyeing – Fabric is passed through the dye solution for a specified length of time. Printing – A term referring to methods of applying designs to greige goods. Some types of printing are roller printing, screen printing, and handblocked printing. Solution Dyeing – A solution of dye is added to the liquid synthetic before spinning it into a yarn. Vat Dyeing – An insoluble dye that has been made soluble is put on the fiber and then oxidized to the original insoluble form. Average dye lot 700 yards. Yarn Dyeing – Yarn is dyed before it is woven into fabric. Cationic Dyeing – A dye technique that allows certain fibers (like nylon, or polyester)to take deep and brilliant colors. When catonic fiber is fixed with conventional fiber, various multicolors and cross-­‐dye effects can be achieved from a single dye bath. Elastomer It is a synthetic rubber that can be stretched to at least three times its original length. Once the exerted pull force is released, this fiber returns to its original length. Felt Wool, reprocessed wool, reused wool, scrap fiber, that can be mixed with other fibers, cotton, and rayon that is not woven but felted. It is a very compact fabric in various weights and thicknesses that has grain so can be cut any way. It needs no hemming or finishing, because it does not fray. It has many industrial uses, such as: piano hammers and in the printing industry. Many novelties, such as: pennants, slippers, lining of many kinds, insoles, and toys, hats and felt skirts. Flax This fiber is taken from the stalk of the Linum usitaatissimum plant. It is a long, smooth fiber and is cylindrical in shape. Its color is usually off-­‐white or tan and due to its natural wax content, flax has excellent luster. Its wash ability is great, however, it has poor elasticity and does not easily return to its original shape after creasing. It is mainly used as apparel fabric. When processed into fabric it is called linen. It is also used for tablecloths, napkins, doilies, twine, aprons, fishing tackle, and nets. Fleece Wool, specialty hair fibers, and cotton with a weave that is plain, twill, pile or knitted. It has a deep, soft nap or pile, obtained by heavily napping with wire brushes or with a pile weave. This provides air space giving good insulating properties without too much weight. The interlacings are well covered by the nap. The nap wears out in time, but good quality cloth gives good wear. It ranges from cheap to expensive clothes. The material is often cumbersome and bulky, therefore it may be difficult to manipulate. Also, the name for the entire coat of wool taken from a sheep at shearing time. It is mostly used for coats for men, women, and children. Gabardine Worsted cotton, rayon, or mixtures with a steep twill. It is a smooth durable twill-­‐woven cloth especially of worsted, spun rayon or cotton. It has a clear finish, tightly woven, firm, durable, that is rather lustrous. It can be given a dull finish. It has single diagonal lines on the face, with raised twill. It wears extremely well and also comes in various weights inclined to shine with wear. It can b hard to press properly. It is used in men’s and women’s tailored suits, coats, raincoats, uniforms, and men’s shirts. Gingham Cotton, man-­‐made, and synthetics with a plain weave. The yarn-­‐dyed plain weave cotton fabric is usually striped or checked of medium or fine yarns of varying quality that are used to obtain the checks, plaids, stripes, and plain effects. The cloth is yarn dyed or printed. The warp and the filling are usually balanced and if checks of two colors, usually same sequence in both the warp and the filling. It is strong, substantial, and serviceable. It launders well but low textured, cheap fabric may shrink considerably unless pre-­‐shrunk. It has a soft, dull luster surface that wrinkles unless wrinkle-­‐resistant. Tissue or zephyr ginghams are sheer being woven with finer yarns and a higher thread count. It is used in dresses, blouses, for both women and children, trimmings, kerchiefs, aprons, beach wear, curtains, bedspreads, and pajamas. Hemp Common name for an Asian annual herb (Cannabis), and also for its strong, pliable fibers. Hemp stems are hollow and have a fibrous inner bark. The fibers from this bark are used to make a great variety of textile products, including coarse fabrics, ropes, sailcloth, and packing cloth. Soft fibers, used for making clothing fabrics in Asia, are obtained from hemp harvested at the time of pollination; strong, coarse fibers are obtained from mature plants. The fibers are removed and processed by methods similar to those used in processing flax. The fiber is dark tan or brown and is difficult to bleach, but it can be dyed bright and dark colors. The thermal reactions of hemp and the effect of sunlight are the same as for cotton. Hemp is moth resistant, but it is not impervious to mildew. Coarse hemp fibers and yarns are woven into cordage, rope, sacking and heavy-­‐duty tarpaulins. In Italy, fine hemp fibers are used for interior design and apparel fabrics. Herringbone Twill It was named after the skeleton of the Herring as this is what the fiber pattern resembles. It is usually created in wool and has varying qualities. It is also known as Arrowhead. It is used in suitings, top coatings, and sports coats. Jacquard A woven design made with the aid of a jacquard head (this constitutes a jacquard loom) and may vary from simple, self-­‐colored, spot effects to elaborate, multicolored all-­‐over effects. The loom operates a bit like the roller on a player piano. But instead of notes, it gives instructions to the machine on how to create the design. Jersey Wool, worsted, silk, cotton, rayon, and synthetics. Knitted on circular, flat-­‐bed or warp knitted